Chapter Text
Julio hated going to bars.
It was exhausting and it never ended well.
More often than he would like, though, Tabs managed to convince him to leave the confines of his apartment and head to the one nearest them.
That particular night had been relatively uneventful, considering the shenanigans Tabs had a proclivity towards. He was staring into his empty glass, enjoying what was likely the calm before the storm, when a man walked over to him, sat next to him, and ordered two drinks.
“Whiskey for me, single malt, and a, uh, whatever my friend here wants,” he told the bartender.
Julio ordered, and the bartender gave them their drinks.
“Hey, I’m Pietro,” the guy greeted him.
“Julio,” he responded.
“So what’s a guy like you doin’ sitting alone?”
They talked for a while, and one thing lead to another and Pietro lead him into a back alley and they started making out.
Pietro started kissing down his neck, which felt great. But then he bit him. Hard.
“Oww, dude, what the fuck was that for?” he asked bitterly, but got no response.
Something felt wrong. Julio started feeling lethargic, exhausted. The guy kept sucking on his neck, but this didn't feel like a hickey, it was almost like he was... drinking something.
At this point, Julio tried to wriggle away from the guy, panicking, because honestly, what the fuck was this guy doing to him?
“Dude… cut it… out. Get... the fuck... away from... me,” he said, trying to push him away, knee him in the stomach, squirm out of his grasp, anything, while quickly growing more and more tired with every second, his vision fading, he just wanted to sleep .
Pietro let go, backing up, eyes wide. "Fuck," he whispered, "Shit, I'm so s-" he was cut off by a voice towards the end of the alleyway.
“Pietro!” he thought he heard the voice say, but he couldn't be sure.
He must have been correct, though, because he heard the guy go, “shit,” before running off.
He heard footsteps approaching quickly, slowing down as they neared to him.
“Fuck, kid, you alright?”
He tried to answer, tried to ask how he found him, ask what the fuck was going on, but he couldn't make himself say anything other than a weak "no."
The man sighed, then said “I can fix this, I can save you, but it’s going to have severe consequences, consequences you'll have to deal with for the rest of your life. Are you willing to deal with that?”
What the fuck was that supposed to mean? What fucking consequences?
But he could feel himself getting weaker, he was probably about to pass out, so he didn't have much time to think on it. Fuck, fine. He nodded, almost imperceptibly.
“Don’t fall asleep,” the guy said, then he grabbed his arm and bit him.
Not this shit again. He tried to jerk his arm away, but before he had a chance, the man let go.
"Drink." The man shoved his inner arm into Julio’s mouth. He tasted… blood. He drank, and for some reason it felt important that he keep drinking.
As he started regaining his strength, he managed to grab onto the man’s arm and held it as tightly as he could against his mouth because he didn't know why but he felt like he needed more, a feeling that would probably scare him if he had enough energy to care.
After a while, the guy pulled away. “That’s enough,” then paused. “Are you alright?”
"I-I think so."
“Good. I’m Nathan, by the way.”
“Julio.”
Nathan helped him to his feet.
“I should probably get going,” Nathan said, clearly in a hurry to get out of there, but Julio grabbed him.
“Look I appreciate it, I really do, but what the fuck was all that? What the fuck did you do? And why did that bastard bite me? Hell, why did you bite me?"
Nathan looked at him impatiently and wrenched his arm from Julio's grasp. "It would take too long to explain, and you wouldn't believe me anyways. I have to go. Take care, don't die, find me in a week."
"What happens in a week?" Julio tried to ask him, but the man had already left.
He resolved to forget this entire night.